Homorous Thruxton R ad reaps reward

A rider who vented his spleen with a vitriolic but humorous ad for his 2016 Triumph Thruxton R reached a substantial bid of $19,700 on eBay.

The owner, who says he wishes to remain anonymous, placed the humorous ad after snapping a gear lever bolt on his three-month-old bike after 1700km.

His ad started with “LOL…..Bike only has 1700 kms on it not counting kms whilst on the back of a tow truck. And is only 3 months old, not counting the amount of time it has been sitting waiting for parts.”

The bike cost him $21,100 (plus on-road costs) three months ago.

It is not clear if the ad was pulled, or sold for $19.700. However, the ad closed one hour before the auction was due to end.

Either way, he got his reward. We are still awaiting a reply from the owner.

When we contacted the owner earlier this week he said the money from the sale would go into a project to rebuild a 1976 Honda CB750 F1 bored out to 915cc, with upside-down forks, 17-inch laced wheels with 120 and 180 front and rear tyres respectively, and Fox Racing rear shocks.

Our article met with varying views from readers. Some sympathised with his problems waiting for spare parts. Others thought he was being petulant.

“Well I’m not one to take opinions seriously,” he told us.

“The issue I have is that it’s not a far stretch of the imagination to go from gear lever bolt snapping to brake lever bolt snapping.

“Whilst the bike is well appointed with regard brake and suspension components, I suspect that it has come at a cost in some other areas.”

The customer had an accessories backorder issue and was refunded for this item. We experienced unprecedented demand for Bonneville accessories when the range was introduced which resulted in an initial stock shortage. Supply has increased markedly in recent months and we are confident we will satisfy demand going forward.The issue the customer faced related to a broken bolt on his gearshift linkage rod and the dealer opted to fix the bike using a part from a floor stock bike, to minimise inconvenience to the customer. There are no issues with the Bonneville range. We wish the owner best of luck with the sale and are confident the new owner will enjoy their purchase with the full backing for warranty, parts and accessories support from Triumph Australia.

Even though the bike was fixed, the seller had not picked it up and indicated he wanted the new owner to pick it up from ProCycles.

The owner had his bit of fun with the ad, including a delicious jibe about hipsters:

Now, if you have recently grown a beard and are wearing fashion from the 60s and 70s and have a hotch-potch of tattoos all gotten at the same time, telling of a life you haven’t lived yet, then this bike is for you. It will give you all the headaches of owning an old bike….